Thursday, September 04, 2014

No Holds Barred: Kevin Jackson on Iowa State Wrestling 2014-15

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Kevin Jackson, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion freestyle wrestler, who is starting his sixth season as head wrestling coach for the legendary Iowa State Cyclones.

We spoke with Coach Jackson by phone Wednesday.

Iowa State Wrestling is in a good position coming into the new season, which starts in November. All of the team's NCAA qualifiers from last season are returning, including their three All-Americans: Kyven Gadson, Michael Moreno, and Earl Hall.

In particular, a lot of attention is focused on redshirt senior 197-pound wrestler Kyven Gadson.

"Ever since Kyven Gadson has stepped foot on campus, he's had the potential, and we've had the expectations, for him to be a national champion. And that hasn't changed," said Coach Jackson.

"This year he has to put a couple of things together, stay locked in, wrestle with intensity and aggression. And I think if he does that for seven minutes, I think he's going to give himself a great chance to win. He's been a leader of our team. He's a two-time All-American. And this could be his last shot at it."

We also discussed the potential of Iowa State's returning All-Americans Michael Moreno and Earl Hall, how Earl Hall is the "best athlete" on the team, the importance of college wrestlers training and competing in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, the "challenging" situation involving the many upcoming changes in college sports including the likelihood that some college athletes will be directly financially compensated, the resulting increased necessity to market the sport of wrestling, Iowa State's new assistant coaches Trent Paulson and Angel Escobedo, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barredhere and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

This event took place Saturday, August 30, at Primal Gym in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

In the main event, Luis Ojeda and Anthony Sansonetti had an epic catch wrestling match, with Luis Ojeda finally winning by pin in 55 minutes and 10 seconds. The match had to go into a fourth, overtime period, with no pins or submissions having been scored until then. By winning, Luis Ojeda was crowned American heavyweight catch wrestling champion, the first such holder of this title in real catch wrestling since the early 1900s.

The big winner of the tournaments was Thomas Velasquez, who captured championships in both the heavyweight and absolute divisions. By winning the absolute, he also won this event's Frank Gotch Award.

"My coach over here was telling me that it wasn't going to be easy," said the new champ, Luis Ojeda. "I didn't know what was going to happen. You never know in these things."

He added, "It was a great match. It could have went either way, and I hope we can do it again."

We also discussed the strategy for both wrestlers in this match, how they implemented it, what their plans are, and more.

With Thomas Velasquez and his coach Ray Karakas, we discussed his background, how he got involved with catch wrestling, his plans, and more.

With Bob Carson, we discussed this current new era in catch wrestling, how this style is fan-friendly and has great potential, and more.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Liberty Bell Classic/King of Catch Wrestling Photo Gallery

Here are some photos from the the Liberty Bell Classic/King of Catch Wrestling Tournament, which took place Saturday, August 30, at the Primal Gym in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

in the main event, Luis Ojeda and Anthony Sansonetti had an epic catch wrestling match, with Luis Ojeda finally winning by pin in 55 minutes and 10 seconds. The match had to go into a fourth, overtime period, with no pins or submissions having been scored until then.

By winning, Luis Ojeda was crowned American heavyweight catch wrestling champion, the first such holder of this title in real catch wrestling since the early 1900s.

The big winner of the tournaments was Thomas Velasquez, who captured championships in both the heavyweight and absolute divisions.